1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system that can generate electrical energy incident to the normal activity of walking and use that energy to power an appliance carried by or on the person of a user.
2. Background and Description of the Related Art
Normal daily activities engaged in by humans often involve movement that can be harnessed as a source of energy without interfering with the performance of those normal activities. The energy harnessed from the movement associated with normal daily activities can be used as any of the following; direct power, alternating power, regulated power, or battery charging power. The amount of such energy is sufficient to power portable electric devices such as cellular telephones, notebook or palm-top computers, cameras, drills, artificial limbs, and other medical devices, all of which would otherwise draw their power from wall sockets, or other less efficient batteries. If this human generated energy was used on a wide spread basis, then the total energy savings to society as a whole could be substantial.
Systems that harness energy from normal human movements are known in the art, however, most such systems produce small amounts of energy for operating low power consuming devices such as watches, safety lights, heated shoe liners, cellular telephones, transistor radios, etc. Examples of systems that harness energy from normal human movements can be found among the references cited below. However, none of the references cited below envision storing energy in large enough quantities to run an electric drill, for example. Further, none of the references cited below disclose a garment having an integrated conductive network for distributing electrical energy harnessed from human movements. In addition, none of the references cited below disclose the unique structural features of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 983,742, issued to John W. Mead on Feb. 7, 1911, describes an electric hand lamp. The lamp is powered by a generator within the handgrip, powered by pulling a trigger.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,015,298, issued to H. W. Cleland on Jan. 23, 1912, describes a spring motor used to drive an electric generator within a lamp. To light the lamp, the user reciprocates the operating lever of the spring motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,471, issued to John G. Hulett et al. on Jul. 10, 1984, describes a heat cap for applying heat to a user's hair.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,494, issued to Gregory J. Maier on Jun. 6, 1989, describes a generator mounted on a ski. The generator is powered by a wheel which rolls along the ground during skiing, powering the generator. The generator may power a heater within a ski boot or may recharge a battery.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,338, issued to Nikola Lakic on Jul. 4, 1989, describes an inflatable boot liner with an electrical generator and heater. The generator is powered by a mechanical transducer, which translates the vertical movements of the wearer's heel into unidirectional rotational movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,430, issued to Kevin L. Brekkestran et al. on Jun. 11, 1991, describes a hybrid electronic control system and method for a cold weather garment. A similar invention is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,067, issued to Kevin L. Brekkestran et al. on Apr. 14, 1992.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,705, issued to Barry D. Batcheller et al. on Jul. 16, 1991, describes an electrically heated garment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,082, issued to Shi-Hin Chen on Dec. 1, 1992, describes a shoe having a pressure-operated generator inside a watertight compartment adjacent to the heel portion of the shoe sole.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,461, issued to Russell M. Bailey, Jr. on Oct. 25, 1994, describes exercise clothing including generator powered lights. The generator is powered by pull cords attached at their ends to grips held in the user's hands.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,682, issued to Shi-Hin Chen on Mar. 8, 1996, describes a pressure-operated electric generator contained within the heel of a shoe. The generator is powered by repeated pressure on a press plate caused by walking, and supplies electricity to a rechargeable battery.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,648, issued to Miriam Ken on Feb. 18, 1997, describes an outdoor survival garment having a flotation layer, battery powered lights, and a heating element.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.